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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

3 Carriers to invest $1oo million in Isis

Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc., and T-Mobile USA are planning to invest more than $100 million in their joint venture that would allow consumers to pay for goods using their mobile phones, according to people with knowledge of the project.

The investment sets up a showdown between the project, known as Isis, and rivals like a mobile-payment service from Google Inc. The amount of funding depends on how successful Isis is at attracting banks and merchants.

“It’s a given that people are going to be transacting more over cellphones,’’ said Chetan Sharma, an independent wireless analyst. “It could open a potential new revenue stream for them.’’
Formed last year, Isis also would enable consumers to receive and redeem coupons via their mobile devices. The service, which will debut in several cities next year, will make money by charging marketers a fee for sending offers to consumers’ phones.